It was a fun weekend for Hatchling callers and for young people in Missouri.
Hatchling Callers called the Youth Contra Dance on Friday night at Larry Boyer's invitation. Many thanks go to Larry for inviting us, and to the callers: Chrystal, Joe, Wade, David, Martha and Bob. Wade did a masterful job with the beginner class.
Bob and Kay and I drove down to Rolla on Saturday night to attend an English Country Dance run by a remarkable young woman, Kimberly Hall. We had arranged with her to let us call some dances. Kay called Knives and Forks, I called Hole in the Wall, and Bob called Jefferson and Liberty. It was amazing, to say the least, to see a hall filled with 60-70 young people, successfully dancing English Country Dances, many at a high level. The band was a family band, mostly - Dad Ed Galbraith plays guitar and his four kids and their friends played keyboard, recorder, fiddle and mandolin, and very well!
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2 comments:
60 to 70 young people dancing English. Is'nt that a bit like herding kitens? They never could have gotten me to dance at all when I was "young".
The only time at the dance it felt as if there were herds of kittens was during the Virginia Reel, when 60-70 young people got to work off a bit of their high energy and us old cats had to work very hard to keep up at all.
This brings up another point. Everyone keeps saying "English is like contra, only slower," or "We need to learn English so we'll still be able to dance as we get older." My own contention is that, while many English dances are, indeed, elegant, and some are downright stately, many of them can only be done by the fleet of foot and quick of mind (or the much of experience).
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